Dino Compagni

Dino Compagni, (born c. 1255, Florence [Italy]—died 1324, Florence), Florentine official and historian, author of a chronicle of the city’s political life that is one of the first modern historical analyses.

Born to a wealthy merchant family, Compagni was active in civil affairs, serving in the silk guild (1280), as governing consul (1282–99), in civil administration (1289, 1301), and as a justice official (1293). His name disappeared after the defeat of his political faction, the White Guelfs, but in 1310 he secretly began to write an account of the political struggles between the Guelfs and Ghibellines and between the Black and White factions of the Guelfs from 1280 to 1312. The Cronica delle cose occorrenti ne’ tempi suoi (“Chronicle of Contemporary Events”) is characterized by moral, ethical, and religious fervour; its historical accuracy has been established by later research, and it remains the most dependable document for that period. Its full portrayal of events, personalities, and human motivations places it among the first Renaissance scholarly works, although it was largely unknown until its initial publication in 1726.